Submarine life-boat.



EP. HUWE.

SUEMARINE UFE BJT.` APPLscA-mu FILED Mk. 5.1911.

mmm Mar. 1221918.

3 sains-#sniff 1.

LP. Hows. l sum/Mams LIFE son.

L '.e.191.r.- i l APP lcATluN man JAN Patented-.Marr '19, 1918.* i l 3SHEETS-satira wlthedubmarine' A I:.It i'sjdesirable that such a lifeboatshall be able lto both leave and return to the sub- UNITED STATES.;PATENT OFFICE.

` W i sunmnmnn Lum-non'ne'I i Specification of Letters Patent.aiipiianni mea inuajf'e, 1e-17 sereine. pinion,

To all 'whom t may concern.:v

Be if, known am I ERNEST P. 11eme` citizen of the United Statesyresiding at Clinton inthe county of orc` ester and StateoZMassachusetts, have invented a new and 'useful Submarine Li'fe-Boat ofwhichJ the following is a spe clticationl 2 This 'invention relates to alifeboat panv adapted fory use in association? marine while the latterissubmerged. lo? oo rd-ingly, itis one object of my invention to providemechanism by which the ascent 4of the lifeboat may be controlled andbywhich alsothe lifeboat maybe returned to` Another object of my inventionis to provide means of communication between the lifeboat and thesubmarine while the'latter is ascending or descending, or while it isat`the surface of the. water for observation pur-` p ses.` .Other importantfeatures of my invention relate to devices for adjusting the buoyancy ofthe lifeboatjin correct proportionl to .the load; -to'improved devicesfor unvvinding and rewinding thecables which connect the lifeboat to thesubmarine; to' an improved arrangement for securing or're-4 leasing thelifeboat from the submarine, and

to other'arrangements and combinations of.

parts which will v'be lhereinafter described and more particularlypointed out in the appended claims.

A preferredV 'form of m invention is Figurell is a planvievvgofalifeboat-L with the .linperotrneorf 'sk ivlfmvvd:

. Fig is" a sectional elevation taken "along the line 2-'2 in Figjlebow-fis t be an end eleva lon' of the lifeboat ad] ace'nt 'portiono'f-vthe 'submarine shown inspection;

4pine'25 are provided with t pered portie opemng/ s or- Olrf @DemingSaid' Fig. I .is a side elevation, partlyin Sectio mechanism, includingEaehli'feboet is normallyrecei'ved-ind pressionforined in the upper deckor frame' 13 of the su'brnairine, thevwalls o f'saidj pressioncorresponding in oi1tl ine to the of, thejnfebba'. Amana teenage pritdepression lgroove 15 6) lsff'orm in theframe 13 ofthe submarinefandinner 'edge'of the frame is'beveled' las ind cated at lffTlie hull ofthe `lifeboat pA vided with a flange-like projection 1T I shaped tocorrespond with the 'edge'A Aorton. n. @this purpose the" Hangs isprovided withv an in l of the frame 13 above described-( vertedgroove 18anda beveled outer por: t0n.19

Any "Suitable son packing material 2o may .be` placed i112 thelgrooves1.5..,and 18 to` insure atight joint betweeiijthe lifeboat a d thesubmarine, the groovedfliange 1T ei; ing entirelyaround the lifeboat. lWhe lifeboat and' submarine are position 'and mechanism by vvl'licfli` lmay be 'simultaneously Withdrawn;'-V

Referring to, Figs. 5 and 6, each"f1o 'c pin'Q is slfilable"ina:bearing'26 secure, .to the frame 2 of the lifeboat, suitable pa ing 28preventing the entrance of .vva. around-the pins. At 'their outerendst29, engaging :corresponding pockets 30 inthe frame' 13 o :the Submrln Ione edgeI th'ereo observation 5Astru o other.;

secured to the frame 27 of the lifeboat. A roll 38 is mounted on a stud39 carried bly; the bearing portion 36 and holds the bloc 32 with itsteeth 33 in engagement with the pinion 34. An actuating arm 40 isconnected to the shaft 34 and at its free end is, provided with anupwardly projecting stud 41. Y

The several studs '41" associated with the diier'ent locking pins areconnected to each other by links 42 (Fig. 1), and the lwhole system oflinks is. preferably connected to suitable mechanism through which theentire series of locking pins may be simultaneously withdrawn. As shownin Fi 1, the link system on each side of the li eboat is -`icpnnectedbya short Vlink 43 to a cross-head `44cpnnected to the piston of apneumatic cylinder 45. The air pressure in the c linder is controlled bysuitableyalvesan the piston may be thus operated to lock or releaseghelifeboat by moving the locking pms A hand wheel 46 (Fig. 1) is mountedon a sleeve 47 threaded upon the tail rod of the pneumatic piston. Thehand wheel and sleeve normally move axially with the iston as the pistonis operated, but, if desire ,such axial movement of the hand Wheel andsleeve may be prevented by inserting pins 48 in a groove 1n the sleeve47. The piston and links may then be moved manually by rotating thejhandwheel 46.

A swinging hatch 50 (Fig. 4) closes the A opening `from the submarineand a sliding in bearings 69 and 70 and each bearing is provided with astuiiin boX 71 to prevent leakage of water throng the bearing. Upon theleft-hand end of the drum shaft, as shown in Fig. 7 there is secured agear 72 meshing with a pinion 73 upon a transmission shaft 74 to whichis secured a gear 75 meshing in turn with a second pinion 76 connectedby a clutch 77 to a transmission shaft 78.

The shaft 78 extends longitudinally of the boat, preferably beneath theinner bottom of the boat, and is driven by suitable gearing from `anelectric motor 8O (Fig. 1). The winding mechanism at each end of theboat is identical and by the clutches 77 either or both drums ma bedriven from the transmission shaft 8; The unwinding .or res winding ofthe cables may thus be accomplished by power and the` winding drums maybe` operated simultaneously or sepa- 1ig'catily to retain the lifeboatupon an even A' pinion 83 (Fi 7) is mounted on a shaft 84 provided witha hand-wheelv 85' and slidable in bearings 86 and 87 supported on thecasing 66. When in its full line position (Fig. 7) the pinion 83 engagesthe gear 72 for manually rotatin the winding drum. When-the drum is to eoperated by power the pinion may be moved to its dotted line position(Fig.7) in which it does not engage the gear 72.

In order to establishtelephone communication-:between the lifeboat .andsubmarine ralvel (Fig, A1) is provided" for clsinglsduring its ascent ordescent, or while it is at the correspon; opening in the bottom ofthe'lifeboatj The valve 51 may be operated by a rack .pinion and hand`wheel 54, or it may be actuated by a piston slidable in a pneumaticcylinder 56," the air pressure therein being controlled by suitablevalves; When the lifeboat has been securely seated and locked inthedepression in the submarine, the small, amount of water remaining injthenarrow' lspace between theitwo boats nifayl be removed by a pumpthroughV a ',ipe 61., VAI.-.f`t 1 =ir the watch is 'removed the 5Q-'andthe valve 5l 'may be, opened to permit freepassage iro'mone boat to they. For the purposefof controlling the ascent rjde'sent ofv thelifeboatiI provide two cables forv each lifeboatgnthe lower end',offleach Y lcablel .being'' permanently sei, cured 'torthi-'ef`subr'laagrine,andftlzie other end o f each cable "being"secured tothe drum Aof a Vsuitable` winding mechanism :or 'WindlassTheonstracfnfef` this.. winding' mechaestsliowll ill'jFig's. 7`and8finwhich it beps'een `,thatfeach cable 6 5 is led through an openirig'` inthe bottom of the lifeboat to a 'water-tight chamber or caslh; 67 withinwhich the winding drum 68"is 'side of each circuit may be grounded or acomplete metallic circuit may be obtained 'by using a second insulatedwire 90 in the second cable 65.

The use of the lifeboat isiclearly indicated in Fi 3 in which the boatLis shown connecte by its cables to the submarine S While in a positionfor making obs- `rvation at the surface of the water. The lifeboat L isshown disconnected from its cables, and moving to a more distant point.

I provide each lifeboat with a pair of floats 100 for attachment to thecables when it is desired to disconnect the lifeboat therefrom. Thesefioats may be conveniently carried in recesses inthe deck ofthelifeboat. For securing the cables 65 to the floats 100 I provide a ring`101 loosely encircling each rotata'blypmounted.l The dru'mis supp0rted\cable and' cqntletd by arOpe 0r .Wire 102 t0 10 a pin or ring 103 in theside, off the lifeboat. When the lifeboat has reached the surface therope 102 may be tli'ziwo, up bringing with it a loop of the cable (i5.Atsuitable pollito`| in the. cable l provide separable conu oec-tionswhich permit the cable to be clisoonneftetl. The lower end may besecured to im@ fof .the floats 11.007 which is then thrown overboard.,the othov @ncl of the cable being; temporarily fseouretl to the ring 103or in any other eonroiilont nommer. 'When both cables are thus release'L the lifeboat is free to move to any desire@ point and ulpoll itsreturn to ite original position the floats may be picked up, the cables65 Connected, and the winding mechanism started to gradually guhmorgethe. lifeboat and retilru it to its orib, al position. in the 'flock ofthe sob marmo'.

In order to proportion the 'buoyancy of tbe lifeboat to the loetl to becarried, l provide Water Storage tool-:s llO @md lll suit-ably connectedlo the 'water pump titl, and. also provitletl with Suitable air withlll. By forcing water into or out. those nits the lmoyuncy of thelifeboat muy he ree-lilly mlj'osted, The Water pomp SU is Comi throughsuitable clutch mechanism to the, motor 80, as is also the oir pump llwhich supplies the air pressure to the tank: lili.

Having thus described my invention the mtnjl advantage-o to bo cleri' edfrom the use thereof will be apparent, .lt y*ii-'ill also evident that,man)l changes imdmotliioetions may bommie therein by those lille/tl inthe art without dopamine spirit enti. scope of my invent! ,l er; forthin the Claims, and l (lo not wish 'ne be of limited to the detalleherein f liooloseo, but what l Claim is'- l. 'lflie ofiiiiliioetioo withSalumerie@ and zi lifeboat therefor., of oleane 'to detooliably securesold boots together, Seid me 1 rooiprlug a plurality of plus mourltoo.ofi lifeboat and adapted to enter corresponding pockets in saidoubmztrine molte connected to Said pins, pnions engaging reeks to moveseid pios axially7 orme Connected. to said pioions, linko Connected toseid arms, and moons to move said linke simultaneously to Withdraw saidpins.

2. The combination with i submarine and o lifeboat therefor, of means'to rletoohaloly eeoure said boots together, 'seid means comprising aplurfillty of puis mounted 1n Said lifeboat and adapted to entercorresponding pockets in said submarino, rocks Connected to seid pine,pinions engaging seid racks to move Selci plus longitudinally, arms comneotergl to said pinions, link@ connected to Seid arms and forming :ilink system, and o pistoi'l connected to Said liol; system :indoperiible by 'fluid pressure to simultaneously move Suid links, andWithdraw said pins.

f. lo combination, e submurinej a lifeboat therefor, and cables carried.in water-tight casings in salti lifeboat, said casings having externalopenings through which the outer ends of said cables extend to 'Saidsubmarine, and means within seid lifeboat for unwnd ing and rewindingseid cables both separately and simulteneouly.

lo combination, e submarine, e lifeboat thereforP and cables carried inWater-tight mollige m said lifeboat:` seid oasings having externalopenings 'tl'iroogh which the outer ends of said cublee extend to saidsubmarine,

kerl-led by seid lifeboat5 means effective for use to drew portions ofsaitl ofi-bles to the deel; of ottici lifeboat9 und do melf-roblecoz'meot'zioos in said Cables whereby the outer portion of each cablemay be de cached from Sal-itl lifeboat and secured to' one of Suidlioats.; i

o, lo eozfiohinflt-ion7 o, Submarine, alifeboet therefor. tletzieliobleoonoeotionss between seid, submarine and lifeboat, means effectivethrough Salti connections to draw' sold life.

boat downward to Said Submarine when the letter is sub eer` ed, andfloats to support the :tree el. o5 of snit ooi'meotions when detached,

6. The combination with a Submarine anti a lifeboat therefor, of meansto deteoliably secure Enid boats together, Said oom.- prieing a.plurality of pins iitouotecl in seid lifeboat. and. otlapted to entercorresponding pot-lieto in. Seid submarine, lieke oonneetefl to movesaid plus and forming e link system, power-acto tl devices vfor movingsaid link system9 mai v mi vIneens for moving said "link system, intldevices for rendering seid man ual means operative.

ln 'testimony whereof l'. have hereunto eilixel signature.

ERNEST l?. HOWE.

Sil

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